Chest MSCT acquisition and injection protocols

The past decade there has been an enormous advance in imaging technology, most obvious in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). Today nearly every radiology department has a multislice CT (MSCT) available for routine imaging, many of which are increasingly being replaced by last generation 16- and 64-slice CT scanners. However, the use of fast CT scanners requires a better insight in acquisition and contrast media injection protocols in order to achieve the best possible result. It is the aim of this article to give a review of the basic principles of CT protocol design for the chest and the kinetics of contrast media injection.